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Archives
head rolls off (with kids)
Apparently my 13th favorite song of last year was only a dry run on what will probably go on to be one of my favorites this year. Fat Cat just released a video of Frightened Rabbit’s “Head Rolls Off,” the first single for Midnight Organ Fight. The video is adorable, and while it isn’t necessarily revolutionizing the world as we know it (it’s really not that far off from that Cold War Kids video…), I’d call entertaining a bunch of kindergarteners to be one of those “tiny changes to earth” that had me loving the song in the first place.
when you’re walking down the street…
It’s official: Jack Black is crazy funny. Freed and I had a lengthy argument over the point of Be Kind Rewind, and in the end I’m not really sure what we were arguing over. I think Freed liked the theoretical concept of ’sweding’: the act of redefining something through recontextualizing it (”putting ‘you’ into the thing you like”). I felt like the movie was a celebration of film; by doing impressions of other movies, they simultaneously celebrate and mock the originals. All in all it probably wouldn’t have been an argument had drinks not been involved. Despite a surprisingly conventional plot, it was definitely worth seeing, as is the self-referential Gondry ’sweded’ version. Watcha gonna do about Ghostbusters?
fools in a tunnel
Following up on the Dodos post, here’s video courtesy of mp3.com, showing the way that they perform “Fools” live. I don’t remember the trombone from their show in December, and I think it this performance could have been EQ’ed out a bit better, but it’s still pretty ginchy.
they think you look tasty to eat
At the beginning of the year I posted about Clear Tigers, a solid Brooklyn-based band that in my mind falls outside the mold, save, maybe, the Alec Ounsworth-like vocals. But the use of the synthesizer, the main source of melody on many of the tracks, is what has me coming back like pop stars to the crazy. I mean, the Philip Glass effect at the beginning of “Deathray” is calming enough that could fit the mood of a DeBeers commercial (certainly better than Cat Power did). I think Glass is actually a far better comparison than any indie act one might imagine… I would label the music ‘classical,’ in the sparing use of drums for songs like “Igloo.”
happy v-day
There have been so many covers of Joy Division’s posthumous hit that I could probably post one cover each Valentine’s Day and be sure that I run out before the covers do. I stumbled upon Honeyroot’s version recently, and wanted to share it with all you lovebirds and happy-to-your-self lonebirds. Have a good one, and lay off the chocolate… it’ll make you sick.
a note on ‘change’
In light of this year’s presidential campaign, I wanted to make a point about what has been labeled “the least original buzzword in campaign history.” Before the ‘Super Tuesday’ primaries, I had a interesting conversation with a friend, who derided Barack Obama’s use of “Change” as a campaign slogan, noting that, “you can’t own change.” It seemed like after the Iowa caucuses, “change” became the Zeitgeist, repeated time and time again by the media, as well as within each candidate’s speeches, even those running to continue along the country’s current track. Some have duly noted that one cannot expect to get real change through any of the candidates; that none of the campaigns, operating within the status quo of political parties and political financing can truly offer anything significantly different. But parsing Obama’s phrasing of, “Our time for change has come,” I believe the reference to Sam Cooke’s Civil Rights-era classic is what actually does give him ownership of the slogan.
eccentric soul
An archeological love of music seems to drive The Numero Group, a record label out of Chicago that is best known for their Eccentric Soul series. I was introduced to the set by Marion Black’s “Who Knows,” a record that I had sought out after recognizing the Rjd2-used vocal sample. It was among one of the standouts from The Capsoul Label, a collection of would-be hits from an obscure Columbus, Ohio soul label from 1970-1974, and was the first of the Eccentric Soul releases back in 2004. Each release seems to somehow mirror the same end-to-end quality, and comes with their own unique story behind their history and how the vintage gems of soul were uncovered. Last year saw two of the best releases from the series, my #8 album of the year, Twinight’s Lunar Hour, as well as The Outskirts Of Deep City, a follow up to their 2006 release by the Miami-based soul label.
february 2008 mix
With releases this month from my favorite underrated bands, some February selections were inevitable. Dirty On Purpose’s new EP, Like Bees is great, a couple reworkings of early demos, the cover that they were playing on their first cross-country tour, and two new songs, one of which is featured here, “Audience In The Room.” The other big news is the first track from Frightened Rabbit’s next LP, “The Modern Leper,” which has been revamped from the original demo they had placed on various give-away EPs over the past couple years. My love of the track is well documented. I’ve been meaning to put some Eccentric Soul one of the mixes for a while now, and “Knockin’ At The Wrong Door,” from last year’s The Outskirts Of Deep City is one of my favorites from the whole series. Dolorean is the other artist that is relatively recent to me… the title track from their 2007 album only barely missed my tracks of the year list. “Beachcomber Blues” is a fantastically sweet yet somber track, winding along with little touches of Dylan in the background organs.